Mission Impazible Dons Kentucky Blue

When New Orleans Handicap (Gr. II) contender Mission Impaziblearrives at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots on Wednesday,
a set of royal blue silks will accompany him.

Emblazoned with the
slogan “GO BIG BLUE” on the back and with the University of Kentucky
logo on the front, the silks are a departure from the
ordinary for Randy Gullatt and Steve Davison’s Kentucky-based Twin Creeks Racing Stables, whose horses usually run under lime green with chocolate diamonds on front and
sleeves – the colors Mission Impazible carried to victory in the 2011 New Orleans Handicap and the 2010 Louisiana Derby.

But this will be no typical weekend for Kentuckians, as the top-seeded Wildcats visit
New Orleans to take on bitter rival
Louisville in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four. With
Kentucky
scheduled to play Saturday afternoon and Mission Impazible running on
Sunday, let there be no doubt as to where the Twin Creeks loyalties lie.

“No doubt whatsoever,” said Randy’s wife
Kim Gullatt, who handles
client relations, social media and public relations for the Versailles,
Ky.-based outfit. “We’re running in the blue and white ‘UK’ silks
to support the Wildcats and hopefully some of the Wildcats fans who are in
New Orleans for the weekend will come out to Fair Grounds to support Mission Impazible as well.”

The silks are described in the official program as: “Blue, White ‘UK’, Black ‘2012
New Orleans on a Mission’ on White Sleeves.”

The
defending New Orleans Handicap winner looks to make history as the
first horse to win back-to-back editions of the race after taking the
Louisiana Derby. No other runner has ever managed a Louisiana Derby-New
Orleans Handicap triple. Four – Fair Grounds Hall of Famers
Master Derby (1974-1975) and Peace Rules
(2003-2004), along with Circular Quay (2007-2008) and
Mission Impazible – have won the Louisiana Derby and come back to take the New Orleans ’Cap. Three –
Honor Medal (1986-1987) and Fair Grounds Hall of Fame members
Tenacious (1958-1959) and Marriage (1943-1944) – took multiple editions of the New Orleans Handicap without managing a Louisiana Derby score.

Still,
the Twin Creeks connections think their steel-gray runner is in good
position to achieve what others have not. The 5-year-old son of
Unbridled’s Song breezed four furlongs in 48.22 at Palm Meadows
Training Center this morning in final preparation for his Sunday start,
second-fastest of 19 timed works at the distance on the day.

“He’s
just a good-doin’ horse,” said Randy Gullatt. “He tries hard in the
mornings and he’s never failed to show up in the afternoons. We were
very pleased with his final move and feel like we’re coming into the
race in great shape.”

Mission Impazible recently ran second by a nose in the Feb. 11 Donn Handicap at
Gulfstream
Park. He prefaced that tough beat with a 3 ¾-length runner-up finish to
Wise Dan in the Clark
Handicap at Churchill Downs last November, and back in June of 2011 he
was second in the Stephen Foster Handicap. All three races are Grade I
events. Sunday, he returns to the scene of his 2011
triumph “on a mission” – as you may read on the sleeve of his special
silks – to capture his first victory since last year’s New Orleans
Handicap score.

“Running
second in Grade I races shows off his talent, but running second
doesn’t give you quite the attention that you might deserve even though
he’s lost in extremely close finishes,” Randy Gullatt remarked. “We
thought
New Orleans was a perfect situation with all the
UK fans
going over there to say, ‘Hey, you’re making a bid at history and so are
we.’ Hopefully we can pick up a bunch of new fans while he’s running at
a track we know he does well on.”

Fair
Grounds stewards gave permission for the “Big Blue” silks to be
substituted for Twin Creeks’ traditional colors in an unprecedented
occurrence
– Kim Gullatt said she isn’t aware of any other racehorse that has run
under team colors in support of athletes in another sport. Mission
Impazible also shows the silks on his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/MissionImpazible),
where fans can comment and follow his career.

The silks will be on display for Friday night’s Starlight Racing at Fair Grounds before jockey
Javier Castellano dons them
aboard Mission Impazible April 1, then will be retired after the race
and auctioned for charity Kentucky Derby week at the Race for Grace
fundraiser to benefit the Race Track Chaplaincy
of America. Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw
of the Pittsburgh Steelers, one of 10 owners involved in the
Mission Impazible partnership, is the guest speaker for that event.

With
tip-off for the tournament semifinals at the Superdome scheduled for
Saturday evening and the New Orleans Handicap slated for the next
afternoon, the Twin Creeks folks recognize they’re taking a slight
gamble. But even if the “Cats” don’t make it to Monday’s championship
game, Mission Impazible will bear their colors.

“Even if
UK
does get beat, we’re still going to run in the silks just to show our
support for the Wildcats and what they’ve done,” Kim Gullatt said. “It’s
been a pleasure to watch them
all year. I don’t know if I’m more excited about the race or about the
game!”